James Taylor began writing music in the mid-1960s as a student at a boarding school outside Boston. He dropped out of school at age 16 and formed a band with his brother Alex. In 1965 James checked himself into a mental institution in Massachusetts, where he began writing songs. The following year he moved to New York and formed the band Flying Machine with friend Danny Kortchmar. Taylor moved to London in 1968 to attempt to combat heroin addiction, and while there, was introduced to Paul McCartney, who was impressed by his music. Taylor was signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records label, which released his self-titled debut album in 1968. The album combined Taylor’s folk and country music sensibility with acoustic guitar pieces. His second album, Sweet Baby James, released on Warner Bros. in 1970, included the hit singles “Fire and Rain” and “Country Road.” In ’72 Taylor married famed singer-songwriter Carly Simon, who had written his 1971 No. 1 hit “You’ve Got a Friend.” Taylor released Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 in 1976 and it became one of the best selling albums of all time. He gave up recording in the late 1980s to tour extensively, something that helped him earn an enormous fan base. Over the course of his career, Taylor has recorded 40 gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

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